The St. Patrick’s Day celebration, hosted by the Fremont Irish League, featured singing, a play and a leprechaun.

Wearing a multicolored leprechaun hat and green shoes with the toes pointing upward, Valerie Boyle was the resident leprechaun for the fourth year in a row. She said she got the job when a friend was unavailable, and joked that she hasn’t been able to give back the costume since then.

“It’s a lot of fun to dress up and do this every year,” said Boyle, a Fremont resident. “It allows me to let my frivolous nature come out and play with the kids.”

While the performances were the main attraction, children surrounded an arts and crafts table in the back of the library room, cutting out paper hats and coloring pictures of leprechauns.

Mary Kate Crawford, one of the event organizers, said it’s nice to be able to share Irish culture with Fremont’s diverse community.

“St. Patrick’s Day gives them a flavor of what our country is like,” Crawford said. “On St. Patrick’s Day, everybody feels like they’re Irish, and they enjoy it because we’re fun people.”

Drama students from Sacred Heart Nativity and Our Lady of Grace middle schools in San Jose put on a play depicting the life of St. Patrick, who lived during the fifth century. The students also played songs on Irish tin whistles, which produce a flutelike sound often heard in Irish music.

Singer Knutti VanHoven performed traditional Irish music, leading the crowd in “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and “Danny Boy.” VanHoven said she has enjoyed singing at the St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Fremont for years, as sharing Irish culture is part of the holiday.

“On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone gets an ‘O’ or ‘Mc’ added in front of their last name,” VanHoven said. “It’s a great big party where everyone gets to be Irish.

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